Wild Horses
by JustAPotteringGleekyStarkid
Summary: What if Spirit had never seen the light in the distance? Would he still meet Little Creek and Rain? What if Spirit's young age caused the disappearance of one of his foals? Sorry about the summary, this is my first story!
1. Prologue

Prologue

**Hey guys! This is my first story on here, so I would appreciate it if there were no flames. Thanks! Feel free to give me _constructive _criticism, so I can improve. Thank you and I hope you enjoy the story!_  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron or any of the characters you recogniz. I would love to though!**

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The warm breeze whipped the golden stallion's mane around his regal head and wrapped his long, chocolate brown tail around his strong, powerful legs. He heard the cry of the eagle above him and raised his head. The eagle looked down at him and cried again. The stallion snorted and pawed at the ground. He loved racing the eagle and he wanted to do so again, but he was the leader of a herd of mustangs and he had to stay and protect them if danger came near. The eagle cried out again before soaring away. The stallion lowered his head. He would race her again soon; he just had to make sure his herd was safe first.

He looked down at his herd from the top of the grassy hill that he was standing on. They were all grazing peacefully-except for two brown foals that were chasing each other a few metres away. The stallion watched them for a few minutes, remembering when he was their age and how he was carefree and used to run and play with the other foals. He remembered one winter when his mother was moving the herd and he decided to run at the top of the bank alongside them. He ended up sliding down and spraying his mother and a few other mares with powdery snow. They weren't very pleased with him that day. Later that day, he'd been trying to reach for an icicle that had formed on a branch of a large tree. He couldn't reach it no matter how hard he tried, so he'd found one in a small alcove that he could reach, Unfortunately, his tongue froze to the icicle and he'd had to prance around with it in his mouth like nothing was wrong. It had really hurt though! The stallion snorted and shook his head to clear his head of that memory. It wasn't one of his favourites!

He looked down upon his herd once again and called to them. They raised their heads to him and nickered back to him. Most returned to their grazing, but one mare, a silvery palomino, continued to watch him. The stallion trotted down the side of the hill to meet his mother. Her name was Esperanza, but only her herd mates knew that. The golden stallion descending the hill was called Spirit, named for his spirited and mischievous nature. These horses belonged only to the sky, sun and the Cimarron in which they lived. Until now.


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron or any related characters.**

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Chapter 1

The herd had been running for hours now. The two foals, although fast, tired quickly and were falling behind, which was very dangerous for them. They would be easy prey for the cougars in the area. Spirit knew the herd had to stop, but he had smelled something out of the ordinary for a while now and wouldn't run the risk of leaving his herd somewhere dangerous. Esperanza ran up beside him and whinnied. She was getting tired and so was the rest of the herd. Although she trusted him with her life, he was still young and didn't realise that his herd didn't have the same stamina as him. He'd nearly lost one mare to exhaustion already. He snorted at her and sniffed the air once more. He couldn't smell anything now, so he led the herd to an open, grassy meadow, not unlike the one they'd just left, but this one had a large, fresh lake. The mustangs behind him snorted in appreciation.

Spirit stopped at the top of a small rise and made sure that his whole herd was with him, before descending down to the lake himself. He'd just taken a long drink of cool water when he heard one of his mares let out a desperate neigh. The mustangs raised their heads towards the noise. The mare that had cried out was Cherokee, a sorrel chestnut mare. She was also the mother to the two twin foals. Spirit trotted over to her as she neighed again. As he approached, he noticed she only had one foal with her, Akecheta, who was standing at her side dejectedly. He nickered to her and stretched his neck towards her in an attempt to comfort her, but she huffed at him and looked away. Spirit wasn't used to being disrespected and snorted at her, but before he could do anything more, Esperanza came over to him and stood between him and Cherokee. Although Spirit may be the leader and protector of the herd, Esperanza was the lead mare and his mother. She decided who could be disciplined and when. Esperanza nuzzled Akecheta, who had raised her head when Spirit and Esperanza had approached, but had gone back to looking sadly at the grass before her. Spirit turned to look at them again and realized that he had to find Helushka. Akecheta and Helushka meant 'fighter', which was exactly what these twins had needed to do their whole lives in order to survive. Not only were they twins, which is a miracle for any horse, but they'd also been small and weaker than normal foals and the herd had needed to move three hours after they were born, due to Spirit smelling cougars in their surroundings. Although they were very brave foals, Spirit knew Helushka wouldn't be able to survive on his own for very long. He nickered to his mother to watch the herd whilst he was gone, and set off the way they'd come. He wasn't about to lose another foal again.

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Helushka had been wandering the grasslands for what felt like days. In reality, it had only been about three hours, but he was only young and was lost, scared, hungry and thirsty. All he wanted was to be back with his mother and sister in the safety of the 'd been separated from the herd whilst they were on the move to a new grazing area. He'd stopped for a few seconds just to rest and eat a bite off grass, but when he'd looked up, his mother, sister and the herd had dissapeared. He had thought he'd heard some horses in the distance, but he couldn't figure out which direction the sound had come from. He had walked off in hopes to find some water, but he'd managed to get himself hopelessly lost.

He was completley exhausted now, but he knew he couldn't stop and rest, because he didn't know how to defend himself from predators and he knew that they'd come after him first. He wandered on for a few more minutes before he came across a stream. His eyes lit up when he saw it and he cantered over to take a long drink. Little did he know that he was being watched.

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**Please review! I'd love to know how I can improve!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron or any of the associated characters. I only own the plot and the names of the horses that you don't recognise from the movie.**

Chapter 2

Spirit had been running for a while before he began to feel tired. The sky was beginning to darken and Spirit was starting to lose hope that he was ever going to find Helushka. He remembered how he'd lost a foal the first year he'd become the stallion and leader of the Cimarron herd. His name had been Ghost Dancer, a smoky grey mustang with a darker grey mane and tail. Spirit would've had to kick him out of the herd when he was older, but Ghost had only been a few months old, and would have stayed with the herd for another few months. The worst thing for Spirit was, he'd never found out the fate of the foal. His mother had been hopeful for the first month or so after his disappearance, but after Ghost had been gone after that, she'd fallen into a depression. Spirit had hoped that if he'd found the body of the foal, his mother would've at least known he was safe and at peace. Sadly, he'd never found anything. Ghost's mother, who used to be a livelier herd member, would now only eat if one of the other mares came over and nudged her until she ate.

Spirit had never let that memory go. He felt that his herd could never trust him fully now he'd managed to lose a foal and he felt he could never be as strong or as brave as his father, Strider. He tossed his head and snorted and set off again into the clear, starry night.

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A rustling in the bushes across the stream alerted Helushka. He raised his head from the stream and backed up, his eyes wide with fear. He was about to turn around and run, thinking it was a cougar, when the noise in the bushes stopped. Now, Helushka's foal curiosity got the better of him. He waded through the shallow stream and approached the bush, not realising that by splashing through the stream, he was more likely to attract unwanted attention. When Helushka was about five paces away from the bush, a tall, dark figure appeared from behind the bush and towered above the frightened young foal.

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**Sorry about the short chapter. I'm trying to make them longer, honest!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron or any associated characters. I only own the plot and the horse names you don't recognise from the movie.**

Chapter 3

Helushka backed up, wide-eyed with fear, as the dark figure loomed over him. He had never been so scared, except for maybe when he and Akecheta were chased by the cougar before Spirit saved them. He could see that this creature walked on two legs-was this a two legged that the foals had been warned about? The thought triggered something in Helushka's mind, making his legs move away from this strange creature. What Helushka hadn't known however, was that the two-legged was talking to him, trying to get him to calm down. He had seen the foal's injury and was trying to calm him down enough to be able to clean the injury. He didn't know why a foal so young would be without a herd. He could see that the young, brown colt hadn't moved far away and knew that he'd easily be caught if the right plan was made. He moved back to his village on the other side of the trees to tell his friends about the colt and the plan he was forming.

Helushka had hidden behind a tree where he could see the two-legged. He knew not to go near them, after what his mother and the other mares had told him, but he was just so curious to see what exactly they were. He wasn't prepared to spend the night alone, without his mother or his sister beside him. He was used to their comforting warmth and Esperanza, then Spirit coming round to check on all of them. He recalled one night when he and his sister, Akecheta, were curled up together and were chewing on each other's ears. Spirit had come over and told them off and Akecheta had listened and fallen asleep, but Helushka, being the more mischievous twin, had tried to bite his sister's ear one last time, but Spirit had come over to him again and made sure he stopped. He'd peeked up at the mighty stallion and saw him looking down at them both. Spirit was like a big brother to the two, when he took time off from guarding the herd after he checked the area for danger, he always came over to play with the two and check them over. Helushka wished he could be big and strong like Spirit someday. With the thought of Spirit and his family in mind, he found the courage to curl up under a bush and fall asleep.

A warm breeze blew across the Cimarron, wrapping his tail around his fetlocks. He thought of the young foals that night and how strong they were. They were like siblings to him, even though they were quite a bit younger than him. They had been the most recent foals born that year and they were by far the most curious and excitable. They loved to run around the meadow with each other and Spirit had promised them and himself, that when he'd checked the area they were in for dangers, he'd always go and play with them. They looked up to him, and he had failed them. He'd failed Akecheta by losing her brother, he'd failed Helushka by not looking out for him and he'd failed their mother, Cherokee, by allowing one of her babies to be alone on the Cimarron. He had a hard time sleeping that night.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: I've noticed that there are quite a few people reading this story, but I've only got 1 review so far. If you don't like this story, please let me know why so I can fix it. I'd really appreciate the feedback. **

**To those who have been following this story, I apologise for the delay in updates. I haven't really had any inspiration or time lately. I know these chapters are short and I'm really trying to make them longer. Thank you.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. I only own the plot and any names you don't recognise from the movie.**

Chapter 4

Helushka was woken up the next morning by the sun shining through the leaves of the bush he was hiding under. He blinked a few times to focus and looked around at where he was, when he suddenly realised his family wasn't next to him. He snorted and stood up abruptly, forgetting for a second about his injured shoulder, to look around and squeal at the sharp pain that shot through his leg. He looked down at his shoulder and saw the four long scratches in his skin and the memories of the last day came flooding back to him-being separated from the herd, the cougar, the distant cries of his mother and, of course, the tall, two-legged shadow he'd seen last night. He saw the stream sparkling a few paces away from him and hobbled over to take a drink. When he'd finished, he looked up and saw a thin, grey line trailing through the air in the distance. His ears perked up in curiosity and he started to walk through the stream when he stopped for a second and thought about what Spirit and his mother had warned him about. His curiosity got the better of him however and he continued across the stream towards the grey line-in-the-sky.

About an hour later, Helushka came across a group of four horses grazing together in a meadow. These horses however, had strange blue markings on them that Helushka couldn't understand. As he approached them, the four horses raised their heads and looked over at him with interest. One horse in particular, a large smoky grey with a blue ring around his eye, walked away from the group and over to the young foal, who'd stopped and was watching the big grey horse approaching him. He felt that he should be afraid, but the big horse didn't seem angry about the foal being in his territory, so Helushka nickered to him. The grey stallion stopped and lowered his head to the foal, who blew gently through his nostrils to him. The stallion returned the greeting and whickered at the young mustang. The other three horses came over to Helushka and greeted him the same way. They all seemed slightly confused as to why a foal his age would be wandering round by himself, but they didn't dwell on that thought for too long, because a group of two-leggeds came through the trees behind Helushka and before he could react, a rope was thrown around his neck.

Spirit heard a neigh in the distance. It sounded a lot like Helushka, but he could just be imaging it. He heard it again. This time he was certain it was Helushka. He let out a long neigh and started galloping towards the sound.


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